I still believe that Belima was potentially close to being Bo's replacement, at minimum, hE was at least contacted.
I don't care what HP and/or SE say about MR was the only person "offered." You can say Belima was never "offered" because there were still on going negotiations. The "offer" would come once terms were agreeable on both sides. Sorry but when it comes to attorneys you have to listen very carefully to exactly what they say, because there is usually elements of BS in there.
Belima when he went to Arky a few days after bitch slapping Nebraska came seemingly out of left field. He made it clear to Arky if the story got leaked he wasn't coming.
If you look at the calendar:
Friday November 28, 2014, Nebraska plays Iowa.
Saturday November 29, 2014, Bo is fired.
Thursday December 3, 2014, the first reports that Nebraska is targeting Belima are reported.
Saturday December 5. 2014 MR was hired.
It only makes sense that SE would go after Belima due to their Wisky ties.
FWIW, I heard a guy on the radio say that people at ESPN absolutely believe there were talks between Belima and Nebraska, which I believe, because not only the ties, but the fact that there was plenty of time for contact between SE and Belima and/or his agent (most likely another attorney who is good at word games).
Add to it this article and tweet:
http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap30...ielema-offered-nebraska-job-before-mike-riley
Just don't see Gil Brandt putting this out if it weren't true.
So did he not take the job because a report surfaced, or did he simply turn it down?
Either way, as I said before, I think SE and/or HP's claims that only MR was offered is only true if you get clarification as to what their semantics and definitions were.
I still think Belima could work well here, but he could also be a disaster.